A Slip Off the Mark
by lupus-stellam
Summary: Oneshot. Lee Seung-gil's tenacity in perfecting jumps does not always go in his favour. No pairings, just some interactions between him and his coach Park Min-Soo.


"You're too stiff, Seung-gil. Your timing is a bit off-if you handled that well, you could have landed properly." Min-Soo's voice from outside the rink bounced off Seung-gil's skull as the latter groggily got up to his feet. It was the fifth failed attempt in a row to land a quadruple axel, something which all the skaters were determined to be the first to pull off, as that very jump had yet to be landed and ratified in a competition.

The skater knew Min-Soo was right, yet he was tired of having to deal with her condescending and demanding words at times. Most of the time, he had been calculating the proper distance for the buildup of momentum before the jump, as well as the technical scores he would probably get with each attempt. The more he failed, the more frustrated he was. What was the problem?

He decided that listening to the track he chose for his program was decidedly reducing his focus on getting the jump done right. Putting up a hand in the form of a fist, Min-Soo, as puzzled as she was, immediately got the cue that it was to stop the music. Once she had done that, she asked him. "Why do you stop the music? You need to get the feel of the music to improve your performance score."

"I need the silence to focus on landing this jump." He replied plainly. It was clear in his tone that he wanted to be left alone, as petty as it sounded. He could care less about performance score at this point, if he couldn't land this jump, performance score be damned.

"Yes, but maybe if you get in the flow with the music, you'll get better momentum. Seung-gil? Are you listening?"

Seung-gil was actively ignoring her at this point, refusing to go with what she said, as he skated off on his own rhythm.

Min-Soo only shook her head and sighed, clearly displeased. She had learned from more than ten years being his coach that he valued absolute silence above all when it comes to helping him focus. Sometimes, even her presence served as a bit of a hindrance. She only nodded as she said. "Very well, Seung-gil. Do what you will. I will leave you be for now." Without as much as a second glance, Min-Soo excused herself from the rink, leaving Seung-gil alone in the vast building with empty stands.

* * *

What seemed like many more attempts of the jump later, Seung-gil still couldn't get it right. Getting up gingerly while massaging his sore shins, he still insisted on trying to nail the jump. Even with Min-Soo's suggestion of using the music to help, it didn't work in the slightest.

The low lighting in the building made it hard for Seung-gil to judge how long had he been training on the ice. Furthermore, it would be a dumb move for him to wear a watch while he skates, in fear of breaking it. However, telling time was not in the forefront of his mind at the moment.

Once he was back on his feet, he was ready to skate once more, but a sudden wave of dizziness had hit him. Shaking it off, he continued onward, building up the required speed to ensure the momentum for the jump. And just as he achieved lift off…

…all he could see was a blur before all faded to black.

The landing on the ice was hard, to say the least, and his breath was knocked out of him. Seung-gil was made aware of every aching muscle in his body. His head was pounding, but his body felt too heavy to move. Gritting his teeth, he tried to lift his head at the very least, but he fell backwards, his eyes lolled to the back of his head, and he lay there, unmoving.

* * *

On the other hand, Min-Soo was at home, about to cook dinner for her family when she realized she left her purse back at the rink. Without as much as a thought to say goodbye to her daughter Yeon-woo who was folding clothes while watching television in the living room, she groaned as she left the house and drove back to the rink, causing said daughter to stare at her mother's departing figure in confusion.

It was already sunset when she arrived. The traffic jam on the way there wasn't much help either. She opened the door to the rink, and while she found her purse which lay on the bench, she also found Seung-gil unconscious in the middle of the rink.

"Seung-gil? Oh my god-Seung-gil?!" Without putting on her skates, she made her way across the ice until she reached him. He was breathing heavily and his marble complexion had lost its glow, to be replaced with an ashen shade. Checking the back of his head for any injuries, fortunately there were none. She tried shaking his shoulder. No response.

 _Alright, calm down, Min-Soo. This isn't the first time you handled someone in this state._ Despite the reassuring thought, Min-Soo feared the worst. What exactly drove him to such a state? She had thought of calling the ambulance, but decided not to in fear of a false alarm. Instead, she just stood by him, occasionally calling out his name and shaking his shoulder in hopes of a response.

The minutes ticked by like an eternity, Seung-gil still hadn't showed signs of waking up. Min-Soo was sure that if he didn't wake up in half an hour's time, she would have to call the ambulance. Looking at his face, Min-Soo was not giving up.

"Seung-gil…can you hear me? Seung-gil…?"

* * *

"-il? Seung-gil-ya…"

Seung-gil could slowly regain his hearing that a frantic voice was calling out to him. He felt his eyelids flutter as he registered the voice calling his name, and the face. It was none other than his coach, Min Soo.

"Seung-gil, oh thank goodness-are you alright? What happened?" Min-Soo's rapid firing of questions was rare, even for him. But he knew that she was prone to this when she was very worried about something.

"…just tired…" Tired was an understatement, he could barely lift his hand, let alone his head.

"I'll get you to the bench, can you stand?" Min Soo was immediately ready to support Seung-gil, as he only nodded while standing up slowly, leaning to her for support as they made their way to the bench.

As Seung-gil sat down and received the bottle of water from Min-Soo, he noticed that Min-Soo's expression was much softer than her usual demeanour. She looked at him and asked. "You've been training for the past two hours without as much as a break? And what happens if you didn't wake up when you did? I would have called the hospital by then-"

He didn't face her. All he wanted was to be able to land that jump, but even that failed. He tuned out to her rambling on what could have happened until he finally found an urge to utter a phrase he never thought would be better for this situation.

"I'm sorry."

Min-Soo froze in the middle of her tirade as she studied his expression. He did his best to mask it, but it looked like he was guilty and full of remorse. "For what, Seung-gil?"

"For worrying you like this." He supposed in one way, Min-Soo was like another mother to him, as much as he didn't like to admit it.

The coach only scoffed and replied. "At least you know how much I am worried about you. You need to know when to take breaks too, Seung-gil-ya. Come, I'll drive you home." She stood up in wait for him.

"No need, it's fine-" He tried to protest.

"No excuses, Seung-gil. I don't want you falling asleep on the wheel when you can't even walk in a straight line."

 _There she is back to her old self again_ , he thought with a small inward chuckle. _Better accept her offer gratefully or else_.

* * *

The drive back was quiet to say the least, Min-Soo was driving him back to his apartment when she noticed he was asleep in the front seat next to her. Usually Seung-gil didn't fall asleep easily, but apparently, he was driven into exhaustion to this point.

Even as a child, Seung-gil had this tenacious nature to him that was probably one reason he didn't have that much of a social circle. The tenacity that was able to propel him through the ranks and become one of the greatest skaters in Korea was an asset. However, even that amount of tenacity couldn't beat the needs of his body to maintain in good health.

As they arrived at his apartment, she shook him gently and called him. "Seung-gil-ya, we arrived."

Blinking blearily, Seung-gil looked towards Min-Soo, and then to the car window to see that they arrived. He gave a sincere nod.

"There will be no training tomorrow, rest well and good night." she said.

Seung-gil mildly smiled and replied in kind. "Thank you." With that, he departed the car with his belongings and watched as Min-Soo drove back home.

As he went back to his house and his room, petting Jinchul who happily welcomed his returned, he fixed himself and Jinchul a simple dinner before heading off to shower and sleep.

The realization that his coach cared so much for him despite her cold nature was enough to put him at ease for a restful, dreamless sleep.

* * *

Author's note:

Hey all! Sorry for the inactivity. I haven't really had a mood to write, and that goes for my unfinished fic, Pulling Heartstrings. I had thought of discontinuing that entirely, if at all possible.

But nevertheless, some notes for this fic features a good deal of headcanons I have for both Seung-gil and Park Min-Soo.

1\. Headcanon that Min-Soo is a widow and lives with her daughter Yeon-woo who is a college student.

2\. Min-Soo has experience with first aid, which is a given because she is after all, a sports coach.

3\. Despite her cold nature and harsh words, Min-Soo regards Seung-gil like a son in a way.

4\. My headcanon name for Seung-gil's dog is Jinchul.


End file.
